Improvement in harrows



UNITED STATES JOHN AIKEN, OF VARNER, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

IMPROVEMENT IN HARROWS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 72,260, dated December17, .1867;

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN ATHEN, of Warner, in the county of Merrimackand State of New Hampshire, have invented a new and Improved Harrow; andI do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription thereof, which will enable others skilled in the art to makeand use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,'forming part of this specification, in Which- Figure 1 is a top view ofmy improved harrow. Fig. 2 isa vertical longitudinal section of thesame,taken through the linea, Fig. l.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

My invention has for its object to furnish an improved harrow soconstructed and arranged that it will adjust itself to pass over roots,stones, 0r other obstructions without having to be raised from theground; that it will relieve itself of rubbish, and that it may be madelight, while at the saine time it will do its work better than theo'rdinary heavy harrows; and itconsists in the construction of the frameand rollers and in the manner in which the teeth are constructed andattached to the rollers.

A is the frame of the harrow, consisting of two inclined side bars, a',connected to each other by four or more cross-bars, a, as shown in Fig.1.

B are rollers the ends of which are pivoted to the inclined side bars,a', of the frame A, and which I prefer to arrange in pairs, each pair ofrollers B having two cross-bars, a?, between them. The rollers of eachpair are couneeted to each other by a chain or chains, C, or otherequivalent iexible or jointed connection,of such a length that it willbe taut when the harrowteeth are in a vertical position, so that whenthe teeth of either roller are inclined backward by encountering anobstruction the teeth of the other roller will be drawn or made toincline forward. The forward end of the chains C are connected to theupper side of the forward roller, and their rear ends are connected tothe lower side of the rear roller of each pair, as shown in Figs. l and2, said chains passing above the forward one and below the rear one ofeach pair of crossbars a?.

D are the teeth of the harrow, which are made of three-fourth-inch roundiron, and the upper ends of which are screwed into the rollers B. Thisenables the teeth D as they become worn sharp upon one side by beingdrawn over the stones while being inclined backward to be'turnedhalf-round, so .as to be Worn in turn upon the other side, making theteeth self-sharpening.

In using the harrow, as the teeth of the forward roller of each paircome in contact with a root, stone, or other obstruction, they are drawnor inclined rearward, so as to be easily drawn over said obstructionwithout being raised from the ground. As soon as the teeth of theforward roller have passed the obstruction, the teeth of the rear rollerencounter it, and are in turn drawn or made to incline rearward, so thatthey may be drawn over it, thus keeping the harrow at all times close tothe ground, so that no part of the surface of the ground may be leftunharrowed, as is always the case when an ordinary barrow is raised toenable it to pass over an obstruction.

I claim as new and desire to secure by Let ters Patent- Connecting therollers B to each other in pairs by chains C or equivalent iexible orjointed connections, substantially as herein Ishovlslfn and described,and for the purpose set ort The above specification of my inventionsigned by me this ith day of September,1867.

JOHN AIKEN,

Witnesses:

ELIZA J. Devis, SAML. Durs.

